Contact device for electric railways



(No Model.)

F. E. FISHER. CONTACT DEVICE FOR ELEOTRIG RAILWAYS.

No. 405,544. Patented June 18, 1889.

if Imam:

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

' .FRANK n. FISHER, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

E'CONTACT' DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPEGIFIGATIOSI forming part of Letters Patent No. 405,544, dated June18, 1889.

Application filed February 15, 1889. Serial No. 300,000. (No model.)

To a-ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, FRANKE. FISHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, county of lVayne, State of Michigan, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Contact Devices for ElectricRailways; and I declare the following to bea full, clear, and exactdescription of'the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use the same, referenee being hadto the accompanying drawings, which. form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in contactdevices for electric railroads, and more particularly to that class ofdevices employing a traveling contact-pulley adapted to travel along theconducting-wire suspended above the line of travel of the car.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide an improved contactdevice of such construction that the traveling contact will bear againstthe conductor, the arrangement being such that the contact-pulley willpass freely along the conductor and will not be liable to catch or tobestopped in its progress, and at the same time will form a positivecontact with the conductor, and, second, to provide an improved contactdevice for electric railways of such construction that the traveler willbe permitted to yield vertically to accommodate any sagging of theconductor, said traveler having a bearing against the conductor, andbeing adapted to be thrown into and out of contact with the conductor bymeans of a suitable appliance within the reach of the operator.

The various features of my invention will be more fully described andpointed out in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings, Figure l. is a side elevation of a car with my improvedcontact device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing themanner in which the traveler bears against the wire. Fig. 3 is a planview illustrating the means for maintaining contact between the travelerand the conducting-wi re.

A represents a suitable standard or support, preferably passing throughthe roof of the car, as shown, and having at its upper end a suitablelateral arm B, carrying at one end a contact-pulley C. The arm I)preferably pivoted to the standard A, as shown .at b, and provided withan arm b upon the opposite end from the contact-pulley.

D D are springs extending from. lateral arms cl (Z upon the standard Ato the extremity of the arm I). These springs are adjusted to supportthe arm which carries the contactpulley in a substantially horizontalposition, but at the same time they permit the said arm to yieldvertically to accommodate any sagging of the conducting-wire.

The standard A is provided with a spring or other suitable mechanism a,preferably at the point where it passes through the roof of the car.This mechanism is of 'sufficient strength to support the weight of thestandard A and the various parts connected thereto; but in case of agreater sagging of the wire than will be accommodated by the lateral armthe grip of the pulley upon the wire will be sufficient to cause thespring or other device to yield and permit the standard to lower to.allow the contact-pulley to follow the wire, and as soon as the saggingportion is passed the spring will return the standard to its normalposition. Beneath the roof and Within reach of the operator is located alever E, said lever being connected to the lower extremity of thestandard. By means of this lever the operator may turn the standard A soas to throw the contact-pulley away from the conducting-wire, thusbreaking the contact. A spring F serves to return the handle to itsnormal position as soon as it is released by the operator, thus causingthe standard to rotate and again bring the contact-pulley into contactwith the wire.

Any suitable braces or stays may be provided to stiffen and support thestandard A as, for instance, those shown in Fig. 1 ata.

The contact pulley C may be mounted directly upon the arm. 13, or, asshown in Fig. 1, an additional arm Z)" maybe provided, said arm beingpivotally connected at one end to the standard and at the other end tothe step block 0, the arm B being also pivotally c011- neeted to saidstep-block, the pulley being mounted upon the block 0. The operation ofthis device is to keep the contact-pulley in a horizontal position,whether the arm B be raised or lowered, to permit the contact-pub ley tofollow the conducting-wire.

I amaware that various devices for forming electrical contact withoverhead wires have been made; but in all such devices the travelingcontact-pulley is liable either tobecome caught upon the wire, thusendangering the entire apparatus, or, where the said pulley is mountedat the top of a long swinging arm supported upon the car, the contact isliable to be broken by the motion of the car and the. consequentvibration of the arm. My device is designed to overcome thesedifficulties and to aiford a contact with the overhead wire which shallbe at once positive and at the same time sufficiently yielding to permitthe pulley to follow the wire in any slight deviation from a straightline. The wire G is supported in the hanger H, which is provided with aclamp h to firmly retain the Wil'ein position and at the same time toleave it r y xposed o as to per i a nt e p i on act betweeh h ntact-Pu yd the WilfQ- In order to adapt this device for use. in con-. nectionwith parallel conductors, it is only necessary to provide an arm Bf,(shown in dotted lines in Fig, 3,) upon which arm. is unted anadditional ohtac p ll y O"- Harine, thusd sc ibed my ih eh ton, W atclaim shew, ahd desire o -QC I Q -X Let s 1- n. an overhead. a t or le rcrei ys atrhyel hs ontact e e dap ed e rm Men l ainst th s e f the c nqoh Said Qhtah evi b ing upp ed upon yielding horizontal arm pivotallysup:

ported at the top of a suitable standard or post, and in connectiontherewith mechanism for maintaining contact between the said contactdevice and the conductor, substantially as described.

2. In an overhead contact for electric railways, the combination, withthe conductor supported in suitable hangers adapted to expose the, sideof said conductor, of a traveling contact device adapted to form acontact with the side of said conductor, said contact device beingsupported upon a yielding arm pivoted to the to of a suitable standardor post, substantially as described.

3. In an overhead contact device for electric railways, travelingcontact pulley mounted up o a su abl lat ral msaid arm rivotal yonnected upon he pp r end of a sui a s ande -d and pmvided wi h. uitablpr s or ah sub antially h sam ime to permit aid] 0. yield ver ially andn onnec o he ith sh tab e me n o permitting e hah lar vv t r se and l wr up n, he. car, and ui ab e means r hr w g he whta tphlley nt an out fon act w h t e ndu t ngthesuhs ah: ally as de ibed In tes im ny e eof in; this r c tlcar tion in the presence of two-Witnesses,

. RANK Witnesses;

JOHN E. WILEs, H.- W Rh N BLE lhihg aid ateral arm. i a m l o ition and.at th

